Trump Administration Seeks Supreme Court Intervention on Passport Gender Identity Issue

The Trump administration has urged the Supreme Court to intervene and block a lower court’s order that requires the government to issue passports based on individual “gender identity.”

This call follows a ruling by Judge Julia E. Covic, who directed the federal government to permit transgender individuals to select their gender designation. The administration argues that “the Constitution does not prohibit the government from defining gender based on biological classifications.”

The administration’s application emphasizes that a U.S. passport is a formal government document meant for foreign recognition and asserts that the executive branch has the constitutional authority to set its content.

Previously, the First Circuit Court of Appeals declined to support this order, suggesting that the lower court had not sufficiently examined its basis regarding “unconstitutional biases against transgender Americans.”

On his first day in office, President Trump signed an executive order asserting that passports must accurately reflect an individual’s biological gender. Under the Biden administration, the Department of State announced plans to introduce a gender designation option “X,” accommodating applicants who do not identify strictly as male or female.

The application insists that there is nothing unreasonable about the president rejecting “gender identity” as a foundation for identification, asserting that biological gender is factual and “immutable.”